Saga of the Spectrum Force

Rachel Castaneda, Craig Gillis, Tamara Fox, Jocelyn Armand, Matthew O'Conner, and Keith Maloy now stand in a magnificent golden castle somewhere in the stratosphere above Langstrum Alps California. Rachel has already been to this magical palace, but the other five are completely taken aback by their unearthly surroundings. The entire throne room glittered with pure gold and colorful gemstones. High on a platform rested a large golden throne decorated by gemstones of all the colors of the rainbow. Sitting on that throne was a pale woman with pink hair, blue eyes, and a welcoming smile. She wore a flowing pink toga, sandals, a glittering tiara, and a purple cape draped around her shoulders. Until now, Rachel's friends were at least a little suspicious of her story about an alien invasion, but now there was no more doubt. They truly had been chosen to defend the Earth, and this woman was the one who gave them the awesome powers they now possess, but do not fully understand.

"Excellent, Rachel," said the woman on the throne, "I see you have chosen your Spectrum Force. They all are pure of heart, or else they wouldn't have been able to enter Cloud Castle. Greetings to you all, and welcome to my castle. I am Spectra, the guardian of this solar system, and keeper of the powers of light and white magic. I do not know how much Rachel has told you, so I now offer you the chance to ask whatever questions you may have. No doubt this has been a most trying experience."

"No doubt," muttered Matthew, "First we get chased around the High Rise, and then those things followed us to the beach! They become intangible, so any attack just sails right through them! What were those black things anyway?"

"You are speaking of the Shadows, magical creatures created by Phaedra. Shadows are among the few warriors at Phaedra's disposal that do not fear sunlight. Sunlight is lethal to the black Denebians, so Phaedra and her subjects cannot attack Earth while the sun shines. The Shadows, on the other hand, are impervious to sunlight. After all, there must be light in order to create a Shadow. I must admit, though, you all handled the situation expertly. You quickly discovered how to attack the Shadows, and you dispatched of them without my interference. You will be excellent protectors of Earth."

"Wait a minute," said Keith, "You mean you saw the whole thing, but you didn't help us?! We coulda been killed! That one Shadow nearly choked Rachel, and both Matt and Craig were almost pounded! Why didn't you teleport us away or something?"

"I had faith that you would be able to handle the situation," answered Spectra calmly, "and you did. If you were fighting unbeatable odds, I would have intervened. Besides, the Spectrum Stones protected you, teaching you how to use their vast powers."

"Yeah, I was wondering about that," said Jocelyn, staring at her orange and silver ring, "What exactly do these rings do?"

"The Spectrum Stones are fragments of the Light Crystal, a magical gem which harnesses and controls light. Each gem controls a specific band of frequencies of the spectrum, which are basically the six main colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. With the rings, you can speak to me or to each other telepathically. The stones also glow in the color of the Spectrum Enforcer in danger. Also, you can create beams of tangible or intangible light, fly, construct force fields, and turn yourself into a beam of light. You also have the ability to sync with the spectrum, giving you a magnified version of the abilities I have mentioned. The rings themselves help you understand better your abilities, but you must master them on your own. In time, you will be able to use the full capabilities of the stones effectively."

"So, we basically are supposed to sit down on Earth and wait for Phaedra and the bad guys to attack, and then we stop them?" asked Craig, "Why don't we just go up to their ship and clean their clocks?"

"Firstly, because the Spectrum Stones are to be used only for defense. Secondly, you wouldn't be able to defeat the massive armada on the asteroid ship orbitting Earth. The only thing preventing a world-wide invasion is the light of the Sun, and in the ship, there is no sunlight penetrating. Your stones are powered by sunlight. True, they can work without direct sunlight, but only for a short while."

"How do we sync with the spectrum?" asked Tamara quietly.

"Raise the stone to the sky and call upon the band of color that you represent. The power of light shall guide you. Any other questions?"

The six youths looked at one another questioningly, and Keith stepped forward. "I guess we're out of questions. For now, anyway."

"Uh, I hate to sound irresponsible or something," said Craig, "but we have a basketball game to get to."

"Right!" said Tamara, "And Keith and I have reservations for dinner! Is there anything else you want to tell us?"

"Just remember to sync with the spectrum in times of dire need, and to summon me whenever you are in need of guidance," said Spectra, standing up and smiling down at her charges. She then created a portal of light. "Step through, and you shall be at the entrance to your apartment complex. Farewell."

The six youths waved their goodbyes to the alien and passed through the portal. Once they were through, they found themselves near the outer gate to the High Rise.

"What a day!" exclaimed Jocelyn, stretching her arms, "Alien invasions, super powers..."

"Yeah," said Craig, "Hard to swallow, eh?"

"Guys," said Tamara, looking at her watch, "its already six o'clock! We have a dinner date, and the basketball game starts at seven! I'd better get ready!"

"Yeah," said Keith, and the two of them hurried to the elevators. The remaining four took their time.

"So," said Craig, "who's coming to the Lakers/Knicks game?"

"I'm game," said Jocelyn.

"Me too," said Matt, "I got nothing better to do, anyway."

"Count me out, guys," said Rachel, "I really have a ton of work to do."

"Are you sure, Ray?" asked Craig, "I got ya a ticket!"

"Maybe next time, Craig," Rachel said with a smile, "Besides, I'm pretty tired. Alot's happened today."

In the throne room aboard the collossal spaceship orbitting Earth, Empress Phaedra sits on her throne, absently tapping her chin with her blood red clawlike fingernail in thought.

"Those little brats defeated my Shadows," she muttered contemptuously, "and now they all have magical powers of light! How irritating. Still, all is not lost yet. Deathwing! Get in here!"

Obeying the Empress' call, a towering seven foot lizard-like creature dressed only in a loin-cloth entered the room. His huge green wings wrapped around his muscular body as he bowed low to his empress, his long beak nearly touching the cold marble floor.

"You summoned me, Empress?" he screeched, rising to his feet and gazing at the queen with cold black eyes.

"I have. Now, the Sun has set in California, and so I can send a more powerful warrior to destroy those children. The Shadows have failed in their mission, and all six youths have magical powers. Still, they have never experienced a real battle situation before, whereas you are one of my mightiest gladiators. Go to Langstrum Alps and seek out the ones with magical powers. Your second sight will allow you to sense their magical auras from miles away. I want you to destroy all of them, no questions asked. And be quick about it--I don't want the White Magician to have a chance to save their little brat squad."

"It shall be child's play," said Deathwing, bowing again and exiting the throne room, "I shall teleport to Earth immediately and carry out your instructions."

Once Deathwing left the throne room and closed the gates behind him, Phaedra rose to her feet and once again looked at the Sun through the tainted glass of the window. "Soon, the White Magician will be out of the way, and then nothing shall be able to stop me from first eliminating the Sun and then absorbing the life force of this lovely blue planet."

Meanwhile, at an extremely fancy restaurant in uptown Langstrum Alps, Keith and Tamara have their first romantic dinnerdate since summer vacation. Tamara is bubbling with excitement, chatting about whatever comes to mind between bites of salad, while Keith quietly stares at his water glass and balances his fork on his index finger.

"...and to top it off, Professor Dobbins chose me to play Blanche in 'A Streetcar Named Desire'! We're performing the play in a couple weeks! I'm so excited--this is my first lead performance! I just hope...Keith?"

Tamara studied her boyfriend closely, but he seemed to be oblivious to her voice as well as her gaze. Tamara rolled her chocolate brown eyes in irritation.

"Keith, are you even listening to me? KEITH!"

Keith looked up from his water glass and looked at Tamara, his ocean blue eyes wide with surprise. "Huh? Oh, I'm listening to ya, Tammy. I heard every word you said."

"Really?" said Tamara, setting her elbow on the table and resting her hand in her palm, "What was I saying?"

"Uh...a sale at the L.A. Plaza? A new store opened on Rodeo Drive? Oh, I know, you found the most adorable new dress at G&G."

Tamara smiled at Keith's attempt at humor, and soon the couple was laughing together. When they calmed down, Tamara took a long sip of her water, and dried her tears of laughter. "You think you know me so well, don't you? Well, none of the above! Now, are you gonna tell me what's bothering you?"

Keith's smile fell as his gaze fell from his girlfriend and fixed on the sparkling red gem engraved on a delicate silver band. He stroked the gem with his index finger, his expression unreadable. "I was just thinking about all that happened to us today," he said quietly, "Just a few hours ago, the six of us were just a group of normal college students, hanging out and having a good time. And going to class, of course. Now, all of the sudden, we're supposed to prevent an earthwide invasion! That's a lot of responsibility to have weighing on our shoulders. I don't know if we can do it."

"Well, Spectra seems to have faith in us, and so does Rachel. If we weren't capable of being the Spectrum Force, Spectra certainly would've found someone else. Stop worrying about it now, though! We're supposed to be having fun here! Look, the food's coming."

As the waiter approached the table, suddenly, the roof caved in in a massive fiery explosion. All the diners screamed in terror as blocks of concrete showered down. Keith immediately reached out and grabbed Tamara's hand from across the table and pulled her under. "Stay here!" he ordered, standing up and staring up at the gaping hole in the ceiling, A horrible shriek shook the whole room, and a towering green lizard sailed through the hole, landing gracefully on the floor below on two clawed feet. The creature released another earth-shaking roar, and stretched out its wings. It then opened its mouth, releasing a stream of burning flames at a group of people, who immediately took cover behind a fallen table. Keith stared at the creature in amazed horror, next to the table Tamara was hiding under. Tamara grabbed his slacks leg and tugged to get his attention. When he didn't respond, she tugged harder, causing Keith to fall to his knees. He then crawled under the table and smiled at Tamara weakly.

"Thanks," he whispered, "I needed that."

"What do we do?" whispered Tamara, peaking out from under the table to get a glance at the creature. He covered her mouth with her hand and sank back to her previous position.

"We have to contact the others," said Keith, "And then we have to stop this demon! They're dozens of lives at stake here!"

"If we don't stop this creature now, millions of lives will be at stake," whispered Tamara, "Once its done here, it'll probably kill everyone in LA!"

Meanwhile, in her apartment on the UCLA campus, Rachel gets her mind off the days strange events by relaxing and catching up on her Spanish Literature reading. She's engrossed in the tale of "El Hidalgo de la Mancha" when suddenly her Spectrum Stone begins to flash yellow and red respectively. The flashing light from her hand soon gets her attention, and she stares intently at the ring in surprise.

What is this supposed to mean? she mused, closing her book and examining the ring, Spectra had said something about the ring glowing different colors...something is wrong. Something must've happened to Tammy and Keith! Rachel leapt from her armchair and grabbed her coat and keys. She was slipping on her shoes when the phone began to ring. Without thinking, Rachel picked up the receiver hurriedly.

"Hello?" she said, "Look, can I call you back? I'm on my way out..."

"Rachel?" said the voice on the other line, "It's me, Jocelyn. Me, Matt, and Craig are at the Laker game."

"Joce!" cried Rachel, "Is your stone glowing also?"

"Yeah! I decided to call you before we do anything. What's going on?"

"Spectra said that our stones glow in the color of the Spectrum Enforcer in danger. My guess is that, since its past nightfall, Phaedra has decided to strike Tammy and Keith!"

"Okay then, we'll meet you uptown, okay?"

"Right," said Rachel, "We'll regroup outside the restaurant to come up with a plan. Gotta go."

Rachel hung up the phone and ran out of the apartment, her ring still flashing red and yellow.

Keith and Tamara remained behind the upturned table, just like all the other diners at the restaurant. The lizard creature that had attacked the restaurant had started a powerful fire, and the people were absolutely petrified from fright that they didn't even make a sound. The creature shrieked loudly, shaking the entire building at its foundations, and then its cold black eyes suddenly turned milky white. The creature began scanning the whole room slowly, its long claws extended and his fangs shining. Keith watched the creature from behind the table, while Tamara watched Keith, overcome with fear and worry.

"What's happening?" she whispered, choking a bit on the thick smoke that permeated the room.

"Its looking for something," Keith whispered back, "Or someone. Look, we have to get everyone outta here pronto, Tammy. Their all so scared of the dinosaur thing that they don't realize how much danger they're in from the fire!"

"What can we do?" she asked quietly.

"First, we gotta get out of this inferno and contact the others. I have a feeling this thing's tougher than those Shadows we faced earlier. We gotta move really fast, and these rings'll help us do it! Look, I'll distract the monster, and you make a break for it! Hopefully, the others'll follow your lead."

With that, Keith took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the table. He glared at the dinosaur, and the dinosaur returned his glare with what seemed to be a smile. The creature shrieked again, and then swung its powerful claw at Keith. The claw missed Keith, but the wind from the swing pushed him back into the table. But by then, Tamara had already slipped out towards the door. The creature was so interested in Keith that he didn't notice the people slowly start to file out of the burning building. However, the fire soon got out of control, and blocked the entrance. Tamara and Keith exchanged worried looks, but Tamara's face lit up when she heard a chorus of familiar voices from outside.

"Tammy? Keith?" cried Jocelyn from outside. She looked at the blazing inferno, and watched as a few dozen people covered in ashes coughing from smoke inhalation retreated from the building. She, Craig, Matt, and Rachel helped the people to safety, and they all gasped in relief as Tamara leapt through the fire. She had erected a faint yellow shield around her body to protect herself from the raging flames, and as soon as she was safe, she let the shield down and ran to her friends.

"Guys!" she coughed, "Keith is in there, facing off against this horrible, slimey lizard thing!"

"Looks like Phaedra didn't waste any time," said Matt, "We gotta help Keith."

"There's still people in that restaurant," continued Tamara, "Keith didn't have a chance to sync."

"Okay, team, we'll Spectrum Sync and give Keith a chance to catch his breath and sync," suggested Rachel, "Okay?"

The four others nodded, each clenching the fist upon which sat their Spectrum Stone. The team hid behind the burning building from any curious onlookers, and each teen stretched their hand to the sky.

"We summon the power of light and right!" cried the teens in unison.

"Spectrum Sync...Orange!" cried Jocelyn.

"Spectrum Sync...Yellow!" cried Tamara.

"Spectrum Sync...Green!" yelled Matthew.

"Spectrum Sync...Blue!" bellowed Craig.

"Spectrum Sync...Purple!" hollered Rachel. As each member called upon his or her power, their stone began to glow brilliantly. Then, rings of colored light fell from the rings and streaked down their bodies, covering them completely in bright light. When the light faded, each member wore a color coded bodysuit, with black sleeves and black leggings, white gloves and boots, colored facemasks with blue visors, gold belts, and white "V"s on their chests. Their hair fell loosely from the top of their heads, and their mouths and noses were exposed.

"Wow," said Craig, "whatta rush!"

"You said it, Man!" said Matt excitedly, "Now, let's get down to business!"

The Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, and Purple members of the Spectrum Force turned towards the building, and the Blue Enforcer broke a hole in the wall with a beam of blue light. The whole team stepped into the building, being nearly blinded by the thick wall of smoke.

"I think this is the kitchen," said Tamara, "Which means the main dining room is...this way!"

The rest of the team followed Tamara as she ran through the kitchen, and soon they reached the dining room, which was filled with even more smoke than the kitchen, as well as roaring flames. Jocelyn gasped audibly as her eyes fell upon the towering creature that was swinging at Keith.

"Whoa," she muttered, "it sorta looks like... a pterodactyl. Sorta."

The creature turned around to gaze at the superheroes, who all stood motionless at the kitchen entrance. It shrieked again, and its eyes once again turned black.

"Took you long enough," it muttered in a deep, rumbling voice. Everyone was taken aback by its statement.

"It talks!" yelled Craig.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious," said Matt quietly, "Look out!"

The five heroes split up and dodged a massive red-hot fireball that the monster threw at them. Keith, who was lying on top of a pile that used to be a table, moaned and touched his throbbing head. His gaze soon cleared, and he touched the bloody gash on his side, where the lizard managed to scratch him on that last swing.

I didn't realize how hard it would be to hold up a shield for so long, he thought, painfully rising to his feet. He hobbled out of the way, into a closet. He closed the closet behind him, and raised his ring up high.

"Spectrum Sync...Red!" he said quietly, closing his eyes as the warm red light wrapped his body. In seconds, all the pain in his side had faded, and he smiled cunningly. "Time for round two," he declared, stepping out of the closet. He looked around, only to see smoke, fire, and innocent civillians trapped under the rubble of the ceiling. He looked up and saw an even larger hole in the ceiling.

"The others must've followed it outside," he said, "Good. I'll see what I can do here."

The Red Enforcer created a tunnel of translucent red light from the center of the dining room, through the kitchen, and through the hole that Craig had made in the outside wall. He then turned to face the remaining people in the room.

"Anyone who can walk, hurry through the tunnel!" he ordered, "I'll help the rest of you!"

Outside, the five other Spectrum Enforcers continued to fight the monstrous Deathwing. Deathwing managed to knock all the heroes back with ferocious flapping of his mighty wings. It then rose into the air, swooping down upon the Yellow Enforcer and grabbing her with his razor sharp claws.

"Let me go, creep!" she cried, grabbing his ankles with her hands, "Let's see how you like a little energy blast!"

Tamara channeled the yellow energy into his legs, hoping to burn him with the light and force him to release her. However, the energy that passed through him turned black, and Deathwing cocked his head to stare at his prey menacingly. He smiled, baring his horrible fangs through his beak.

"Let's see how YOU like a little energy blast!" he shrieked, redirecting the energy back through his legs and into Tamara. She screamed in pain and soon lost consciousness from the energy feedback. The other Spectrum Enforcers quickly leapt into the air and followed Deathwing as he circled high above the still raging fire. The Red Enforcer climbed out of the inferno, carrying an unconsicous waiter over his shoulder. He set the victim down on the grass and looked up to see the monster soaring through the air above, clutching the Yellow Enforcer, who hung limply from its deadly claws.

"Let her go!" Keith ordered furiously. Deathwing shrieked and dropped the Yellow Enforcer to the ground. The four flying Enforcers fired energy beams at Deathwing now that Tamara was no longer in the way, but instead of injuring the monster, they only seemed to make him stronger. Deathwing landed gracefully on the ground, right in front of Keith. "Ready for round two?" it rumbled, extending its claws. Keith grinned.

"You know it, Lizard Lips."